Nation's Best Future Farmers

Posted: Wed 5:39 PM, Feb 25, 2004&nbsp|&nbsp

Updated: Wed 5:39 PM, Feb 25, 2004

The nation's best future farmers will head to the Florida capital to be honored by Gov. Jeb Bush. Thursday morning, the top farming students from Suwannee Middle School will be recognized for their work.

The students are thrilled. They say they are very excited to be named the nation's best middle school FFA, but getting to meet Florida's governor is a dream come true.

Becoming the Future Farmers of America's best middle school program in the nation takes a lot of work, and on Thursday morning they will be rewarded for their hard work in the Florida Senate by Gov. Bush and his cabinet.

"It’s a big, big honor. And we're thrilled and we can't wait to go. We do have to get up at 6 a.m. and leave. We're looking forward to meeting the governor and his staff," says Nancy Barnes. Suwannee Middle FFA Director.

"It feels good because you know all the hard work you did is paying off, and you're getting recognized and they're praising you for your hard work, I'm happy," adds Justin Johnson, FFA Chapter President.

"We've put a lot of hard work into this and its awesome to be the number one chapter in the nation," says John-Walt Boatright, Chapter Secretary.

"I think it’s awesome because not many people get to meet the governor and we worked so hard to get this, so I think its great," says Christine Tillman, Chapter Chaplain.

And it’s not just members of the Suwannee Middle School FFA who've gotten excited about becoming the best in the nation and the meeting with Gov. Bush.

"The community is thrilled, we've had signs up on the Dairy Queen, the community has just been really great about it," says Nancy Barnes.

Leaders of the Suwannee Middle School FFA say there's another impressive fact. Many of their members are involved with other school organizations.

Because of the group's success, they have seen more interest from other students. Right now there are 165 members of the Suwannee Middle FFA, and leaders say there is about 50 other kids who are interested in joining if space comes available.

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